Discovery
by evilredhead
Summary: Erik finds a girl on the streets or Paris and decideds to take her under his wing. Could it be love? PLEASE R&R!
1. Discovery

She had been there for about three years, but it seemed like an eternity. She couldn't really remember the life she had lived before. The only thing she really knew was that it was better than her life was now. She was cold, hungry, and alone. Not literally, no, there were many people around her that were feeling the same way she was. But they never talked much, and especially not to her. As the bluish purplish horizon began to set, she decided to get up and go for a walk. Where she was going, she didn't know. But it didn't really matter. No one would miss her anyway. As she walked down the streets of Paris she could see people in their warm, cozy homes. This winter had proven somewhat fatal for the "scum" of the city. One of the coldest she had been through. But it wasn't as bad as last year, when influenza had wreaked havoc on all of Paris, not just it's scum. That was the year her mother had died. The only thing she had from her was the heavy coat she was wearing. Not only had it kept her from freezing, but it also had extreme sentimental value to her. As did the blue-stoned necklace she wore. Oh, her father. She could barely remember him. He died when she was but a child at the mere age of two. As she was reminiscing, a slight noise could be heard behind her. But since she was thinking about such sad thoughts, she didn't seem to notice it. As she was coming out of her trance-like thoughts, she heard the noise as well, but it was too late. Out of nowhere huge arms encircled her and ripped the coat off her, at least they tried to. She wouldn't let it go without a fight. Although she was determined to get the coat back, the man showed himself to be too strong and got what he desired. She caught a glance at his face for only a second. She remembered him. He was one of the impoverished men she had seen everyday for three years. He had harassed her before. As he took the coat from her, he began to beat her mercilessly. He threw several blows to her face and kicked her ribs many times. She lay there, a hopeless bleeding mess as her attacker walked away with her only source of warmth, both physically and emotionally. If she didn't die from blood loss then she would defiantly die from the frigid temperatures. However, she hadn't had time to notice where she had ended up, which was right in front of the Opera House.

He lay there, staring at the ceiling. He tried to close his eyes and sleep, but it didn't work. The insomniac decided that this wouldn't help, so he got up. He would take a walk. After all, walks always helped him to clear his normally cluttered mind. As he was about to leave, he remembered the one thing he thought he would never forget. He walked towards the dresser and picked up the only thing that had remained a constant in his life: the mask. He put it on and left. As he walked into the brisk night air, something seemed wrong. Out of place. That's when he noticed the girl, blood-soaked and unconscious.


	2. Awakening

Erik put his cloak around the bony frame of the girl. There was no doubt that she was homeless, and yet she had such a beautiful necklace on. Hmm. He simply shrugged it off. How long had she been out here? There wasn't time to waste. She needed to get help fast. He quickly picked her up in his strong arms and carried her down into his lair. As they began their descent, he noted some of her features. Very bony, small frame. Bright red hair, which was unusual, but unique nonetheless. Long eyelashes and rosy cheeks, but that could be the result of being in the cold for so long. As they were drawing nearer to their destination, she began to squirm in his arms. Once they arrived, he put her on the bed and was off in a hurry to find a needle, thread, washrag, water, and a warm dress. When he returned he began cleaning her face off immediately. _Wow_, he thought. _She'll be hurting for a while with these bruises_. There were a few cuts he was concerned about. He quickly stitched them up and put the cold rag on her face, hoping it might help the swelling, even just a little bit. _Should I check the rest of her body_, he wondered. _The last time I saw a woman's body so close…_ Thoughts of Christine quickly entered his mind, but left as soon as they had come. _No sense in dwelling on the past_. Shortly after beginning his search, he was glad he had chosen to look further into it. Several broken ribs. She would be in his care and mercy for at least a few days. _This isn't too bad_, he thought. _I'll have something to do._ After falling asleep watching her, he woke up the next morning. But she was still out cold. He was worried. _This isn't normal, is it?_ It was then that he pondered his motives. _Why did I pick her up? I see people that are in her position everyday, but I never do anything for them. _it was at that moment when she started to stir.


	3. The Angel

The pain of the events from the night before began flooding into her body. It was so intense that at first, she didn't notice where she was. Nor did she notice the masked man looking after her. After a few seconds, she began taking in her surroundings. _Where am I? How did I get here? _She looked all around her to try and find the person who brought her. And she did. _What in the name of God!_ What should she do? What should she say? He just stood there._ Isn't he going to explain what happened? How I got here! _If only she knew the things going on in his mind.

_Oh my God_ was all he could think. The lighting had been so poor that he couldn't see her face very well the night before. But now as she sat up, he found it hard to move, and even hard to breathe. She was the most beautiful creature he had ever seen, even with her ugly bruises. Her ruby hair fell gently on her small shoulders. Her crystal blue eyes were comforting, and yet they had a deep pain inside them. Her body was the perfect size, although she was very bony. _We can fix that_. Her hands were delicate, but strong from her difficult life. As he came back to his senses, he realized that she was standing now, rather unstable, looking strait in his eyes. The look seemed to penetrate into his soul it was so intense. "Umm… where exactly am I?" Oh, her voice was like silk. An angel with a voice of silk. "I found you on the streets last night. You were beaten pretty badly. I brought you here and cleaned you up. You should sit back down. You don't need to be moving around that much." "Why not?" It was then that she felt a sharp pain in her chest. It hurt to breathe. He noticed the moment of her realization and replied with, "That's why." _Well, it seems I'm going to be here for a while_. She began to look around the room. It looked like a tornado had come through there. Papers strewn everywhere, random drawings. _What kind of place is this? _she thought, getting more afraid as the seconds passed. Sensing her fear, he went over to her and somewhat timidly sat down on the bed beside her. For the longest time they sat there, staring at each other. To Erik, they were moments of sweet ecstasy. _She's even more beautiful up close _he thought, if it was possible to get any more beautiful. As she gazed upon the masked figure, she noticed his deep blue eyes. They seemed to be filled with an ocean of pain and solitude, and yet she could still see love on the inside, screaming to be set free. After a few minutes of this, she grew increasingly tired. Her eyes began to get lazy and try to close, and she fought for them to stay open. Seeing her apparent fatigue, he gently laid her down into the bed. She rested her head on the pillow, and as she was about to fall asleep she whispered, "Thank you." _No, thank you_, he thought. He continued to watch over her for a few more minutes until he decided to get some sleep himself. As he left the room, he whispered to himself, "Goodnight Angel."


	4. The Angel's Music

As Erik sat down onto his bed, he began to think. _Can I do this again? Can I love again? Is this even love?_ He was uncertain about the future, which he didn't like. The attraction between them was obvious. However, the Phantom was afraid. He was attracted to her so much, and she seemed to feel the same for him… or did she? He let out a long sigh. Once again his mind was cluttered, but all the thinking made him increasingly tired. He laid his head on his pillow and finally slipped into a deep sleep.

The next day she woke up early. Although the pain surrounded her, she got up to search for the strange man from last night. As she left her room, entering the main room, she gasped. There, across the room, was an organ. _This man likes music?_ He didn't seem like the type. She slowly walked over and sat down on Sweet Music's Throne. It had been so long, but just the sight of it made everything come back. She began to play a simple children's song to see if she remembered like she thought she had. After completing the song perfectly, she let down her guard and began playing whatever her fingers felt like playing. She began playing the most beautiful of songs…

_As he reached up to touch her face, she vanished before his eyes. "Christine…" Wake up Erik, wake up… _He awoke with a start. He heard the faint sound of music being played_. Heavenly music… _He began to walk towards the noise, which lead him to the main room. It was the most beautiful music he had ever heard. It had pain, and yet, the pain found wings that flew to heights where they became happy! The music told a story of pain that triumphed to joy and happiness. As he looked over at the girl he could tell the intense emotion she was putting into it. She was giving her soul and nothing less. _The Angel plays heavenly music… _

As she continued to play, she sensed someone behind her. She shrugged it off. However, after a few minutes of that particular feeling, she turned around to see the man on his knees, sobbing. She ran over to him as fast as her injuries would allow. _Why is he crying?_ She gently touched his bare back in an attempt to comfort him. "No… don't… stop playing," he choked out. She ignored him. "What's wrong?" No answer.She had no idea how beautiful is had sounded in his ears and how badly he wanted to have his pain be lifted up like it had in her music.After a few moments of silence he lifted his head up out of his hands and looked at her. "Where did you learn that?" he asked, tears still streaming. "I didn't learn it, I just played what my soul longed to play." _Amazing. The Angel can play the music of the angels._ As he regained his posture, their eyes met and they simply stared at one another like they had the night before.

As he gazed upon her, she began to note some of his features. The whitemask was still on his face, but the visible half was actually quite handsome. He had dark hair that hung loosely in his face. His shirtless chest was muscular as were his arms. They were strong, and yet they could be gentile, as she had found out from the stitch work he had done on her. His eyes seemed to carry all the sadness of the world, as they had appeared the night before.

He was mesmerized at the spectacle before him. Sheer beauty. As he slowly snapped out of his trance, he remembered that she was hurt and probably hungry. "Wait here a minute," he said as he got up and started walking back to his room._ Such a strange man, and yet, whenever he looks in my eyes, I get lost in his_. "Are you hungry?" Until that point, she had forgotten her hunger. She answered with an enthusiastic "Yes!"


	5. An Angel's Name

She ate the food with much delight, and he could tell. Maybe now he could get a name out of her. _Oh, to know an angel's name… _"So, do you have a name?" he asked, feeling like a boy again with the butterflies in his stomach. He didn't know why he felt so nervous. She looked up at him and answered simply "Camille." _Camille, eh? Different, but nonetheless beautiful. _He was still pondering about the song that had had such an effect on him. He longed to hear it again. Once she was done eating he turned to her and said, "Come with me." She slowly got up and followed him. They went into the main room and sat on the piano bench, their sides touching against one another. When he went to ask her to play the sweet music he had heard, she beat him to it and asked him, "Will you play me something?"_ Hmm… how can my music measure up to the masterpiece she had played not so long ago? _He thought for a few seconds, then closed his eyes and played his sad music.

As she sat there looking into his closed eyes, she felt compelled to take off his mask. _I don't think he would like it very much…_ but as she tended to do sometimes, she acted on impulse and reached up and took off his mask. From the depths of Hell came a cry so horrible and so terrifying that she jumped off the bench and stumbled back a few feet. He leaped to his feet as he covered the right side of his face and looked at her with a look of shock and betrayal. _How could she! I thought she was different! _But instead of trying to run in fear of his anger, she stood there and looked at him. Then, she slowly walked up to him and put her hand on top of his, removing it to reveal the Phantom's face. And instead of seeing a horrible monster, she saw a man with all the pain of the world resting on his shoulders. Then, something happened that even surprised her. As she looked into his mesmerizing eyes, she reached up and kissed his lips, gently and lovingly.


End file.
